Rob Hajacos • Nashville Cats • 2025

Acclaimed fiddle player Rob Hajacos is honored at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in this installment of Nashville Cats—a series which spotlights musicians who have made significant contributions to country music. Writer-editor Jon Freeman moderates the program, which was recorded on June 21, 2025, in the Museum’s Ford Theater.

Throughout the interview, Hajacos retraces his storied career chronologically, beginning with his introduction to the instrument through his parents in Richmond, VA, at the age of four and touring with Little Jimmy Dickens at nineteen. After moving to Nashville, Hajacos went on to work with some of country music’s biggest names. He speaks to his time working with a then up-and-coming George Strait, recording with Shania Twain and producer Mutt Lang on her hit “Any Man of Mine,” and his unique approach to Kathy Mattea’s “Time Passes By.”

Hajacos also discusses his cherished time as a member of the G-Men, a tight-knit group of musicians who have played on all of Garth Brooks’s studio albums, including the band’s induction into the Musicians Hall of Fame and “playing the beer can” on Brooks’s iconic “Friends in Low Places.” The program concludes with Hajacos reminiscing on touring with Neil Diamond overseas, his initial thoughts after listening to early Taylor Swift hits like “Love Story” to prepare to play on them, and his later-in-life passion for motorcycle racing.

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